Reports& surveys

01
IMG Media
(William Morris Endeavour)
md, production worldwide Graham Fry svp global director of engineering and technology David Shield turnover £175.3m
hrs 6,833 key shows Barclay’s Premier League, Channel 4 Racing (C4), Open Championship Golf 2016
Sports producer IMG takes poll position in the Production 100 for the fourth year in a row on the back of a turnover of £175.3m - up from £161.5m last year.
IMG’s credits include a huge array of sports, from C4 horse racing, BBC snooker, the Wimbledon world feed to the Indian Premier League. But IMG’s biggest contract is to produce the Premier League football for overseas rights holders. It has held the Premier League Productions contract for the past 12 years, and in June signed a three year extension. IMG takes in all the host coverage of the League, customising each match, adding commentary, graphics and highlights. International broadcasters can take individual matches or IMG’s content service, which is in effect a 24/7 Premier League channel that also includes live news, talk shows, highlights and archive games.
The UK production arm is part of the global IMG group which represents sports clients such as Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic and stages hundreds of live events. In 2013, IMG was acquired by US talent agency giant William Morris Endeavor, which looks after stars such as Russell Crowe and Tina Fey.
Formerly known as TWI, IMG’s TV sports arm has existed since the 1960s. It has produced nearly 7,000 hours of sport and entertainment over the past year – much of it from its purpose built studio facility in Stockley Park in West London.
Recent highlights include winning the Open Championship golf production contract and being appointed host broadcaster for the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.

02
Carnival Films
(NBCUniversal International Studios)
md Gareth Neame coo Daniel O’Donoghue turnover £110m hrs 35 key shows Downton Abbey - S6 (ITV), The Last Kingdom (BBC2), Lucky Man (Sky 1), The Hollow Crown (BBC2)
Carnival Films has taken full advantage of the spectacular growth in demand for British-made drama from UK and international broadcasters.
With backing from owner NBC, it has built a strong scripted business following the global success of Downton Abbey, which bowed out on its sixth series on ITV on Christmas Day.
Over the past year, Carnival has won re-commissions for BBC2’s The Last Kingdom and Sky1 series Stan Lee’s Lucky Man.
Carnival was also commissioned by Sky1 to produce Bill Gallagher’s Jamestown, set in 1619 and charting the early days of the first British settlers as they embark on their lives in America. The eight-part series is now in production.
Carnival’s full order book helped it to generate £110m in revenues over the past year, the highest ever figure for a non-sports indie taking part in the Production 100.
The company, perhaps understandably, says the business climate over the past year has been ‘good’, and looks set to be so in the year ahead too. “International distribution continues to be a key area of growth and future opportunity,” says Carnival.
The biggest UK drama producer, Carnival was orginally founded back in 1978, making its name with series such as Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry and Porterhouse Blue. Managing director Gareth Neame – a former head of BBC drama commissioning – joined in 2004 and sold Carnival to NBC Universal in 2008.

03
Left Bank
(Sony Pictures TV Production UK)
ceo Andy Harries md Marigo Kehoe
turnover £101m hrs 20.5 key shows Strike Back (Sky 1), Outlander (Starz), Wallander (BBC)
Drama producer Left Bank rises again this year, up from 8th to 3rd, with turnover almost doubling to £101m. Orders from international broadcasters are driving growth, says md Marigo Kehoe. Left Bank is producing Netflix’s £100m commission The Crown, the streaming giant’s first original show from the UK.

09
Neal Street
(All3Media)
company directors Pippa Harris, Sam Mendes, Caro Newling, Nicolas Brown turnover £51.4m hrs 24.25 key shows Call The Midwife (BBC), Penny Dreadful (Showtime/Sky), The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses (BBC)
Neal Street has consolidated its place in the top ten of the Production 100 rankings this year, with turnover more or less steady at £53.3m. Launched in 2003, Neal Street has enjoyed success with Call the Midwife and Penny Dreadful. It’s just picked up a major commission from Amazon and Sky for 43AD set Britannia.